Window shield



H. S. DUNN WINDOW SHIELD Jan. 22, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 8,1960 INVENTOR.

Harold S. Dunn BY %MM P- Attorney QXXXXXXX Jan. 22, 1963 s. DUNN3,074,474

WINDOW SHIELD Filed D80. 8, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 L/ 1/ 2: Fl 6 4 asallllllllllll/l/j INVENTOR.

Harold S. Dunn Attorney Sfii'dyild Patented Jan. 22, 1%53 doe T nsnvention relates to window screens or eaves drops and paricularly to atype of protective curtain or screen capable of being dropped or drawndown vertically or angularly from the eaves of a dwelling or otherbuilding to protect a window or other opening therein from sunlight,rain and wind and to provide privacy for the occupants of the building.

At the present time many homes, and particularly those located in theSouth, are provided with relatively wide overhang for the roofs in orderto provide increased protection for large windows and glass doors nowextenused. Air conditioning is being widely used and the glassed-inareas of the houses permit the penetration of heat and thus materiallyincrease the cost of operation of the air conditioners. it has beenproposed to use canvas hanging drops often suspended forwardly of thewindows. However, such drops are secured only at the top they sway withthe wind, often strilc'ng against windows and other parts of thebuildings and causing darnreto and sometimes to passing pedestrians.

ny parts of the country and particularly in the South, so-called awningshutters are used, and while such devices are eifective to a certaindegree, the leading edges of the shutters are never low enough to affordprotection against the late afternoon sun.

it is therefore one of the objects of the present invention to provide aprotective screen or shield which, when not in use, can be raised to ahoused position and which, when lowered, can be extended vertically orangularly downward and forwardly of a window or other building openinand possibly several feet outwardly therefrom, when in its extended oroperative position,

can t provide the required protection from sunlight, wind and :1 while afording privacy to the occupants of the buildis an object of theinvention to provide a device of "d in which the operation can bemotor-controlled; in which the curtain or screen will be held againstflapping or swinging in the wind and with which a positive lowering andraising movement of the curtain will be always eilected.

forth in view, I have devised the arrangement or arts to be describedand more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

in the accompanying drawing, wherein an illustrative embodiment of theinvention is disclosed,

flG. l is a vertical sectional view through a portion of a building,with the improved screen or eaves drop mounted thereon and with thecurtain disposed in its lot ered position;

r16. 2 is an enlarged sectional view, taken substantially on the line 22of PEG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FlG. 3 is a sectional view, taken on the line 3-4 of FIG. 2, looking inthe direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view, with certain parts broken away and insection, of a portion of PEG. 3 Sl'lOWlll parts of one of thereverse-grooved rods, the traveller thereon, and the switch means forcontrolling the operation of the motor;

FlG.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the lower bar ofthe screen, showing the connection of one of the pivoted arms thereto;

E16. 7 is a view similar to KG. 6, but showing the screen or curtain asbeing composed of a plurality of flexibly-connected slats;

PEG. 8 is a face view of the inner face of a fragmentary portion of thecurtain or screen, with a slightly modified arrangement of the pivotedarms, wherein these arms cross one another;

PEG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view, taken substantially on the line9--? of FIG. 8, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 10 shows the electrical circuit for the operating motor.

Referring to PEG. 1, there is therein shown a portion of a building, 1indicating a part of one of the walls in which a window 2 is provided.The roof is shown at 3 and the same is provided with the conventionaloverhang forming an cave having a soffit 4 and a facia board 5.

The improved window screen or eaves drop and its operating elements arehoused within an elongated, openbottom box or housing 6 mounted in theeave behind the facia board 5. The housing box 6 can be composed of woodor metal and if it cannot be conveniently located in the cave behind thefacia board, it can be added to the building structure by securernent tothe outer edge of the soffit or otherwise suitably mounted in place.

The window screen or eaves drop includes a flexible member or curtain 7mounted upon a spring roller 8 rotative in brack ts lit provided on theopposite end walls of the housing 6, the spring 9 of the roller biasingthe curtain toward raised or rolled-up position so that there is alwaysa constant tendency of the screen or curtain to assuil e a raised orinoperative position and become located within the housing box 6.

Secured to the lower end of the curtain 7 for the full width of the sameis a bar 11 which may be composed of metal such as aluminum, said barlll being reinforced by an overlying strip 12, the lower end portion ofthe curtain or screen being sandwiched between the bar 11 and the strip12 and secured thereto by means of the screws 13 or equivalent fasteningmeans. The means for unrolling the curtain and extending it to itslowered or operative position as shown in PEG. 1, includes a pair ofarms indicated respectively at 14 and i5. The arnr 14 has one endpivoted on a cross shaft to extending be tween the front and rear wallsof the housing box 6, and its other end 17 connected to the bar 11. Theconnection between the end 17 of the arm 14 and the bar it isestablished by means of a roller 18 (P16. 6) rotatably I mounted on apin 19 secured in the end of the arm 14,

which roller is guided in an undercut groove 29 provided in andextending for the length of the bar 11.

The arm is has one end pivoted on a shaft 21 extending between the frontand rear walls of the housing box 6 at an end thereof remote from theend of the housing box in which the shaft as is located, and the secondend 22 of the arm 15 is provided with a roller guided in the groove 2%in the manner described in connection with the arm l4. it will beapparent from the foregoing, that when the two arms 14 and 15 arepivotally swung downwardly, they will cause unrolling of the screen orcurtain and will lower it to an extent permitted by the length of thearms 14 and 15. These mms l4 and 15 may be trussed or otherwisereinforced as indicated at 24 in FIG. 1 or they may be suitably shapedin any required way for strength and rigidity.

The means for causing pivotal movement of the arms id and 15 includes anelectric motor 25, which is preferably of a size to enable it to behoused centrally within the housing 6 and mounted on one of the wallsthere-V of. One end of the motor shaft is coupled to a reversethreadedrod 26, while the other end of the motor shaft connects to a similarreverse-threaded rod 27. One end of the rod 26 is rotatably supported ina bearing 54 mounted on one end wallof the housing box 6. Similarly, oneend of the rod 27 is rotatably mounted in a bearing 55.

' Mounted for back and forth movement on the reversespiral threads ofthe rod 26 is a travelling block 23 (FIG. 5.) provided ,with aspringpressed stud 29 shaped for engagement with the reverse threads onrod 26. This arrangement is such that when the rod 26 is rotated byoperation ofthe motor 25, the travelling block 28 will be moved back orforth as required to either cause lowering of. the screenror curtain 7or to cause its upward movement or retraction. Connection between thetravelling block 28 and the arm 14 is established by means of a link 3%}having one end pivoted on a pin31 secured in the block 28 and its otherend pivotally attached at 32 to the arm 14.

, Operating along the reverse-threaded rod 27 is a travelling block 33,constructed similarly in most respects to the block 28, and the block 33has one end of a link 34 pivotally attached to it as shown at- 35, theopposite end of the link being pivoted to the arm as shown at 36.

The operation of the motor 25 is controlled by'a switch 37 which isprovided at 37a with a remotely-positioned push button, and from thedescription of the mechanism thus far given, it will be apparent thatwhen the switch 37 is closed, the motor 25 will be set'in operation, andas the travelling blocks 2:8 and 33 are moved apart or in a directionaway from the motor, they will cause the arms 14 and 15 to be pivoteddownwardly and in the curtain '7 to be unrolled from its roller and thuslowered to the extent permitted by the length of the arms 14 and 15.

Carried by-the block 28 is a switch bar 38 secured in the block by thescrews 39. A roller 40 rotatively mounted at the end of a switch arm 41-rides on the switch bar 38, and for the greater portion of the length ofthe bar 38 the roller is held elevated against the switch but ton 41a tothereby maintain the switch 37 closed after it has been closedbypressure imposed on the push button 3 7a. At its opposite ends theswitch bar 33 is provided with notches shown respectively at 42 and 43.

When the travelling block 28 reaches the end of its travel in adirection toward the motor 25, and the curtain 7 has ascended and hasbeen rolled up on its roller, the switch bar 38 will have reached apoint where the notch 42 isat the roller 49 and the rollereii hasdropped down into the notch causing opening of the switch 37, thusstopping the motor 25' and halting further raising movement of thecurtain. Similarly, in the. descending or lowering movement of thecurtain, when the travelling block 28 reachesthe limit of its movementin a direction away from the motor and the curtain reaches the limit ofits lowering movement, the motor will be stopped by the roller 4-6;dropping into the notch 43 in the switch bar, thus halting any furtherdescent of the curtain,

Fromthe foregoing, the operation of the improved. wind screen or eavesdrop will be readily understood.-

When the screen or curtain 7 and its operating elements, including thearms 14 and 15' and associated parts are in the raised position, all ofthese elements will be housed in the housing box 6 and covered andprotected thereby. When it is desired to lower the curtain or screen,the

switch 37 is'manually closed byoperation of the push.

button-37a and the motor 25 is thus set in operation. This'causes therotative movement of the reverse-threaded rods 26; and 27 and thetravelling blocks 28 and 33 will move in a direction away fromoneanothen'causing downward pivotal movement of the arms 14 and 15 andhence a'loweringmovement of thecurtain to the limits of the downwardswing of thearms. When the curtain reaches the limitof its downwardmovement, the switch rod, 38.-

will have reached a position where the switch roller has dropped intothe notch 4-3 thus opening the switch 37 and halting the loweringmovement of the curtain. The curtain will then remain in loweredprotective position until it is desired to raise it. In the loweredposition of the curtaimthe arms 14- and 15 will act as rigid downwardextensions from the housings and will prevent the curtain from swingingor flapping while also restraining rolling the curtain up on its red 3as the bar 11 is lifted by the upward pivotal swing of the arms 14 and15.

The ends 56 and 57 of the bar 11 protrude slightly beyond the side edgesof the curtain as seen in FIG. 3,

which ends 56 and 57 contact with the hubs of the arms 7 14 and 15 onthe raising movement of the curtain and form stop limits which restrictthe upward movement of the bar 11.

.While 1 have herein suggested that the curtain '7 may be composed ofcanvas or other suitable sheet material, it may be otherwiseconstructed. For example, in PEG. 7 the curtain is shown as beingcomposed of a plurality of fiexiblyconneoted slats or strips dd and anysuitable flexible, protective material capable of being rolled up can beused. Hence when herein referring to the screen as a curtain I wish tobe understood as meaning any flexible material which can be rolled upand lowered as herein described and which will satisfactorily performthe functions required of this apparatus.

While 1 have herein shown the gearing in the form of reversely threadedrods and travellers mounted thereon for efiecting the raising andlowering of the curtain, other'forms of gearing maybe availed of toimpart the required, pivotal movements to the arms i i and 15 to causethe curtain to be resultantly raised and lowered.

It will also be noted that in the embodiment of the invention shown inFE GS. l, 2, and 3, the end portions 17 and 22 of the respective arms 14and 15 are so con-. nected thatt'hey do not, inthe raised position ofthe curtain, tend to overlap one another. This ispossible in the case ofrelatively wide curtains. in a case where a relatively narrow curtain isused or where a curtain of greater length is required, the arms 14 and15 can be arranged to overlap or cross one another as shown in FIGS. 8and 9. In this embodiment, the end 17 of the arm .14 has its roller 18engaged in an upper groove 51 in the bar 11, while a lower groove52provided in the bar and offset relatively to the groove 51, receivesthe roller 53 carried. at the end of the arm 15.

While I have shown the curtain arranged to be halted at theeud of itsraising and lowering movement's, it can be so arranged as to halt atintermediate points thus. providing protection to any extent desired.Also, while the curtain is so mounted as to be raised and lowered ver-..

tically, it can be arranged for angular extension and retraction- Theseand other modifications are considered as being within the scope. of theinvention and the claims appended hereto. 7

What I claim is:

1. A screen assembly for use on a building having a a vertical window orthe like comprising a downwardly opening housing, a curtainand-rollerassembly journaled in said housing and extending substantially thelength thereof, said assembly including a flexible curtain fixed at oneend to a roller biased for rotation about its longitudinal axis tonormally maintain said curtain in a roliedi up condition, said curtainincluding opposed parallel side margins, said curtain including a rigidbar extending substantially the width thereof and fixed on the other endof said curtain, said bar including lateral groove means extendingsubstantially the length thereof, a pair of elongated, one-piece armspivotally connected at one end on transverse axes of rotation on saidhousing outwardly of side margins of said curtain, the other ends ofsaid arms being pivotally connected to said bar at said groove means andretained in said groove means for longitudinal movement therealong forsubstantially one-half the length thereof, a power shaft means journaledin said housing parallel to said roller, said shaft including reverselythreaded portions along opposite end portions thereof, traveler elementsengaged on said threaded portions and movable therealong in oppositedirections in response to rotation of said shaft, one-piece linkspivotally connected respectively to said traveler elements andintermediate pontions of the respective arms for extending said armsfrom a substantially terminally aligned position when the curtain isrolled up to an extended position wherein the arms are disposedoutwardly of the side margins of said curtain, and power means connectedto said shaft for rotating said power shaft means about its longitudinalaxis.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein one of said travelers includes anelongated switch member thereon and disposed parallel to the path oftravel of said one traveler, said switch member including controlportions longitudinally spaced therealong, and a control switch fixed tosaid housing and including a control arm biased toward said switchmember and normally closed thereby and extendable into said controlportions for opening said switch.

3. The structure of claim 1 in which said groove means comprises a pairof overlying parallel grooves extending along the length of said bar,said arms being disposable in overlapped relationship when positionedwithin said housing.

4. The structure of claim 1 wherein said power means comprises areversible motor connected intermediately of said power shaft meanswhereby torque on said power shaft means is substantially equalized.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS641,262 Bode Jan. 16, 1900 953,386 Lockwood Mar. 29, 1910 1,594,643Stuart Aug. 3, 1926 2,277,195 Alpaugh Mar. 24, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS212,706 Great Britain Mar. 20, 1924 363,940 Great Britain Jan. 17, 1929511,426 Great Britain Aug. 18, 1939

1. A SCREEN ASSEMBLY FOR USE ON A BUILDING HAVING A A VERTICAL WINDOW ORTHE LIKE COMPRISING A DOWNWARDLY OPENING HOUSING, A CURTAIN-AND-ROLLERASSEMBLY JOURNALED IN SAID HOUSING AND EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY THELENGTH THEREOF, SAID ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A FLEXIBLE CURTAIN FIXED AT ONEEND TO A ROLLER BIASED FOR ROTATION ABOUT ITS LONGITUDINAL AXIS TONORMALLY MAINTAIN SAID CURTAIN IN A ROLLEDUP CONDITION, SAID CURTAININCLUDING OPPOSED PARALLEL SIDE MARGINS, SAID CURTAIN INCLUDING A RIGIDBAR EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY THE WIDTH THEREOF AND FIXED ON THE OTHER ENDOF SAID CURTAIN, SAID BAR INCLUDING LATERAL GROOVE MEANS EXTENDINGSUBSTANTIALLY THE LENGTH THEREOF, A PAIR OF ELONGATED, ONE-PIECE ARMSPIVOTALLY CONNECTED AT ONE END ON TRANSVERSE AXES OF ROTATION ON SAIDHOUSING OUTWARDLY OF SIDE MARGINS OF SAID CURTAIN, THE OTHER ENDS OFSAID ARMS BEING PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID BAR AT SAID GROOVE MEANS ANDRETAINED IN SAID GROOVE MEANS FOR LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT THEREALONG FORSUBSTANTIALLY ONE-HALF THE LENGTH THEREOF, A POWER SHAFT MEANS JOURNALEDIN SAID HOUSING PARALLEL TO SAID ROLLER, SAID SHAFT INCLUDING REVERSELYTHREADED PORTIONS ALONG OPPOSITE END PORTIONS THEREOF,